lance armstrong sat down with oprah and bombshell after bombshell came out. he admitted he cheated, he lied, he ducked. the rumors he spent years to nine, the world trip. blood doping was his cocktail for cycling competition, blood transfusions and testosterone and on he went. didn't think it was possible. he admits using banned substances in the tour de france and says he was afraid of getting caught. listen to what he told oprah when he he asked if he thought when he was doing was wrong. >> was a big deal to you, did it feel wrong.

>> at the time, now. >> did not feel wrong. >> no. scary. >> did you feel bad about it. >> no. even scarier. >> did you feel in any way that you were cheating? >> no. the scariest. he had to look at the word she to see what it meant and he said it didn't apply to him. joining me as a sports columnist from "usa today." christine, extending interviewed. a full hats off to oprah winfrey, you can't really be to the devastating power of this segment. watch this. >> yes or no, did you ever take

banned substances to an answer cycling performance. >> yes trig. >> yes or no, was one of those banned substances epo? >> did you ever blood dope or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling? >> yes. >> did you ever use any other banned substances like testosterone, cortisone or human growth hormone? >> yes. >> yes or no, in all seven of your tour de france victories did you ever take banned substances or blood dope? >> yes. >> in your opinion, was it humanly possible to win the tour de france without doping? >> not in my opinion. >> so when did you first start doping? >> we are done with yes and no?

i suppose earlier in my career there was cortisone and the epo generation began. >> began when? >> for me? >> for you. >> mid-90s. >> just quite extraordinary confessions from lance armstrong. you covered lance armstrong almost his entire career, i guess. what did you make of what happened tonight? >> never mind, i have said all this and now in this riskless way you wonder if he has a soul. just immediately saying yes, no hesitation. no emotion. this is one riskless guy, as i said. >> the greatest chief in the history of sport? >> absolutely. the biggest fraud. i think we can see why. almost like it is a cold-blooded cheating and a guy who just almost doesn't feel remorse. he says a few times during the

interview i feel bad about this. whenever. is almost don't believe that he feels that way. >> unbelievably callous and glibness to his delivery. he is locked up, got caught and i had better say these things. plus you read this notorious piece, i believe and lance armstrong. i understand why he did it because she knew him well. he told you i never ducked and you believed him. you are not the only one that fell for this by any means with respect to sports writers. when you see the scale of the admission tonight, and therefore the scale of the deceptions, how you feel? >> i feel numb, i am not surprised. just another chapter of whether he is trying to sue everyone in town so he can get away with it and it is the next phase, maybe it by come clean in an unprecedented way, somehow i will redeem myself in front of their rise.

i am not buying it, i am not surprised because the man compartmentalizes. a month ago if you talk to him, he would still rails and i have not done any of this stuff. it is a witch hunt against me. all of these cyclists hate me for whatever reason. no month later, he has finally come to light and seen jesus. on, give me a break here >> he went after the media, his colleagues, a despicable man in a lot of ways. let's watch another clip. this is where he tries to justify what he did paraclete >> suspects back my cocktail, said to speak, was only not a lot. transfusions, and testosterone. which in a word while most justified because of my history, obviously, with testicular cancer and losing -- surely i am running low. >> when you hear the

justification, is there any modicum of sympathy for him whatsoever? >> not all. from my perspective, and obviously yours, too, that is phony baloney. he wants to come back and compete in that is what we have been hearing and certainly i have been hearing from my sources. he is banned for life and he should have thought of that in june. he is not even coming clean. he is getting dribs and drabs. a kind of stuff be left to do to potentially lower lifetime ban to eight years, to age group triathlons and marathons', not talking about the tour de france. >> i really don't. he has to make a stand. >> he is delusional. >> he has taken everyone to the cleaners. for 20 years. >> the good news is he will not be able to get back in the good graces with these answers. he would have to give up the farm, give every detail, all information and clearly to take

away from tonight is he is not willing to go there. he can't begin to go there. >> the reason is shocking is because it is an iconic figure, cancer surviving, the charity, the hundreds of millions you raised and i am a cynic about this. i think he did it deliberately, the charity to cover what he was doing. a perfect way of keeping people at arm's length. i am a good guy, i survived. i built this amazing charity. i think it is all built and the money they received the money don't mind too much. i did. i think it taints everything he has touched. >> he is totally tainted and one could argue there's no cynicism involved. you're probably right he felt that i found live strong, it will be a great foundation. yet another layer of insulation. the part that bothers me the most is when all process you are suing an employee and she has no

money. he tries to run roughshod over everybody. employees, the wives of teammates, the london times. he says i don't know what i see them. is sued so many people i can't keep track. >> he kept going on about it. every word he published was true. >> there is something wrong with them. i think he is trying to feel the you see and and it can't feel. how can you feel when for 15 years, not only did he take illegal drugs, they all did in cycling. if anyone gets in my way, i am not just going to condemn them, i will sue them. on will make their lives miserable. >> let's watch what he says was the last time he'd sec, and not sure i believe him. let's watch this. >> the last time i cross the line? that line? 2005. and so --

>> you did not a dope. >> and the biological passport was in place. >> does that include blood transfusions? >> absolutely. >> in 2009 you did no doubt in your blood transfusions in 2010. >> 2009 and 2010. >> i don't believe a word he is an. >> i believe it because what he did in 2008 when they did the biological passport, he was going to get caught. that is why he didn't do it. >> tube-like and? for changing his spot? >> i was thinking of overall the takeaway from me is that i think i felt worse about him. already as critical as you can be. i think he is more despicable than we even thought. >> i thought the arrogance, the brazenness, the glibness, all of it, as always, oprah did a fantastic job unlocking the real lance armstrong. you are preparing columns

tonight. what will headlines be, do you think? when is the takeaway? >> he is even more despicable than we thought and also just the lack of human, the cold-blooded nature not remembering he said. cannot even sounding the least bit remorseful that he can't remember if he sued somebody are not. >> to me, there is an authentic and authenticity to a because the way we are seeing this man and oprah did get that across. he is dispassionate, you can hear the wheels clicking in his head. how can i pull this off? this will be my greatest caper yet. i cannot get over the fact, he screwed me a little bit. some of these smaller people he said he and the lying and the depositions. he acted as well tonight as he did then. he we get defensive and arrogant and say i already answered the question. he intimidated and he bullied

and nelly is going the other direction. >> when he concedes he is arrogant, he sounds arrogant. watch this. >> just riskless desire to win. when all costs, truly. that serves me well on the bike. served me well during the disease. but the level that it went to for whatever reason is a flaw. and then that defines and the attitude, the arrogance, you cannot deny it. you watch that clip that is an arrogant person. look at this arrogant prick. i say that today. it is not good. >> i feel so disgusted by lance armstrong for the millions who looked up to him and he allegedly inspired care of the

whole thing was a pack of lies and a ruthless pack of lies. and man who ruthlessly targeted people to protect himself, say people, bully people, got people fired. this man knew no limits to how awful he would be to be a hero and a champion. >> he transcended sports, obviously. and, of course, he is nothing of the sort. it is worse than that it was just an athlete doing dumb things like we have seen. >> final thoughts? >> he made hundreds of millions of dollars. that was a method to the madness. >> let's be clear, this image he propagated, this false image built on lies gave am personally been a great guy for charity, i would think he took us all for all right. shame on him. he shamed his sport and his

country in a very sad day. >> i felt a tremendous sadness not for him but for sport and for what we have become. >> all of those little kids to get on bikes because of lance armstrong. thank you both very much. will we come back, what to say after you have said you are sorry. from the appalachian trail to the comeback trail. the return of charlie sheen.

lance armstrong talking to oprah winfrey, he admits using

substances like cortisone and he wouldn't have won without adopting. using banned substances at the tour de france. most shocking of all he was not afraid of getting caught. it is all out there now. lance armstrong the biggest jeeter in the history of sport and shame on him. i want to bring in somebody, the former south carolina governor committed to an affair and found him a political punch line. he is making a comeback and running for congress and he joins me now exclusively. thank you for joining me. i am not linking what happened to you with the grotesque confessions spelling out lance armstrong. i have to ask you as somebody who has been through the minister of getting caught, doing something you should not have been and all the public abuse that comes your way and the downfall, what do you feel for lance armstrong tonight on that level? >> i feel bad for him.

it is a remarkable storm that he is about to go through. i will suspect he will go through the steps of the personal journey. that maybe will bring in to a more humble spot and a spot or in he recognizes the grace and the giving of others and may be appreciated for the first time. >> what did you learn about yourself? it was a moving interview. you are honest and it seems you are a changed man in many ways. what was the overriding thing you learned about yourself the major the better man. >> we do have publicly displayed in this instance this is your as good as you think you aren't you are not as good as you act. we'll learn in the wake of that is ultimately the broken nose of a human being is our connection. if i pretend to be on a pedestal what you are on another, we're not relating as human beings. it's in our brokenness that we understand each other, have empathy for each other, and have

a real conversation about how is it we move forward on this journey called life. >> you're having another go now at congress, and many people feel good about that. the reaction has been positive, and certainly when i interviewed you before, i thought you were genuinely contrite and it was a personal failing more than anything else that you admitted to, but a failing on the sense of the other side of it, you're still with the woman that was at the center of the scandal. you're very happy. you're engaged to be married. and this has now led you, i think, to a position where you believe you can run again for office. do you think the electorate, when they face the task of possibly re-electing you, will forgive you? do you expect widespread forgiveness? >> well, i mean, that's up to each individual to decide. what i do know is two things. one is there's an amazing reservoir of human grace out there. there's a reservoir of god's grace that each of us has to access ourselves as best we can.

and what i have come to learn and this is perspective on all of these events, you know, a lot of people said, look, mark, i'm not going to judge you on your worst day any more than i judge you on your best day. what i'm going to do is take a look at the totality of where you came from in 20 years of politics and where you come from as a member of our community here for 52 years and i'm going to make judgments accordingly. that's all any of us can ask. forgiveness really is in the hands of the owner. it's incumbent upon each of us to make that decision for ourselves. >> you're fighting in an old stomping ground of yours. it's a seat vacated by tim scott, who was appointed to senate last year by governor nikki haley. it's going to be a bit of a tough battle. you have good competition down there. you have larry grooms, chip limehouse, and teddy turner's son, ted turner. it's not easy. why do you want to come back to congress?

what do you see is missing that perhaps you can fill in terms of a gap? >> an old buddy of mine in buford summed it up well. tom davis and i went to college together. he's now a state senator from down that way. he called me and said, you know, mark, you've really got to do this. you were talking about debt and deficit and government spending 15, 20 years ago when nobody was that much focused on it in washington, but now they really are. here is a chance for you to take all you learned, what you learned on the way up, on the way down, in congress, in the governorship, and apply it to what is really the debate of our times. if you look, we're having a new fiscal crisis it seems every couple months. we had the debt ceiling, the fiscal crisis, and that's really the tip of the iceberg that is coming our way based on unbelievable demographics and unbelievably unsustainable government spending. what i want to do is take what i learned and hopefully apply it to again a great conundrum that

now exists in washington, which is how do we get our financial house in order? >> i wish you all the very best. thank you for joining me again tonight. it's a pleasure to talk to you as it was last time. i genuinely wish you well. i'm glad you're making another go at this. good luck with it. >> i appreciate it, thanks. a critic who says newtown changed everything, but the nra doesn't get it, and the gun advocate who says america doesn't have a gun problem. they just have a values problem sneezing, , aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't.

today, president obama is pushing forward with his sweeping gun plans, vowing to make it a reality. the white house knows it will be a tough fight. chris murphy, welcome to you, senator. i spoke to your colleague last night. there is a sense although many senators and congressmen and women are determined to try to help the president get his way, there are an equally large number of democratic senators and a lot of republicans in the congress who just simply won't wear because they're worried about the nra coming after them and driving them out of office. what do we do about that? >> well, listen, i think the nra is in a fundamentally different position than they were just 35 days ago. they don't have a grip on congress like they did. and you have seen it. you have seen democratic senators come out and say they're willing to look at assault weapons ban. you have seen republicans in the house of representatives from places like georgia saying they'll look at background

checks and bans on high-capacity ammunition clips. no one should be afraid of the nra. if you look at their electoral record, it's pretty pathetic when 90% of incumbents got re-elected, only 80% of the people they supported got re-elected. they're not the electoral force members of congress think they are, and they're fundamentally on the wrong side of the debate. the stuff they're putting out, like the commercial they released yesterday against president obama, is almost like a "saturday night live" parody of themselves and the if they're going to continue to conduct themselves this way, members of congress are going to separate from them. >> are you dispirited about the rumbles that the president can't push through an assault weapons ban. no one can tell them the power has no place on civilian streets or in civilian hands, and almost already, i'm seeing the white flags of surrender in

washington. who is going to show some kind of political leadership? >> yeah, you know, i have talked to so many of these parents and families over the last few weeks. and one father, i said to him, i want your perspective on the coming debate on assault weapons. he sort of paused for a second and said, what debate? to families in newtown, it's simple. if you had a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, there would be little girls and boys alive. i don't buy that you can't pass an assault weapons ban. if you put it on the floor of the united states senate, it's going to be hard for members of the senate to look the newtown families in the eye, who are going to be in washington, i guarantee you that, over the next several months, and tell them they stand with the nra instead of the kids. it's not going to be easy, but if the president sticks to the commitment he made, if he doesn't get distracted by something else or a crisis, we can get this done.

>> it's so vital. lots of the other proposals he came out with are very important. the cancelling of these ridiculous loopholes in background checks at gun shows and so on, bleeding obvious things to do. investing in mental health and so on. but to me, the assault weapons ban has to be the plank of this because it's these assault weapons that are being used for the massacres. it's not the issue involving handguns in chicago. it's about assault weapons and their relationship to deranged people and massacres. >> yeah, and listen, absolutely we have to view this wholistically and approach the gun ban in cities. let's address what happened in newtown, connecticut. first, if this guy didn't have an assault weapon, if he didn't feel invincible with the weapon he used in video games in his hands, he might have never walked into that school in the first place. let's say he did that and he didn't have the high capacity magazines.

what we know is in these shootings, they often stop when the shooter is reloading. we think that may have happened in sandy hook. he only had to reload twice to get 100 rounds off. if he had to reload nine times, he wouldn't have killed as many kids. that's the reality, is that we need to do all those other things, but if you get the 100-round, 30-round clips off the streets, the next time somebody walked into one of these schools, there's going to be less carnage, and that's a tradeoff that every hunter in connecticut, i think, is going to be willing to make when they look at it. >> i completely agree. good for you, senator. keep up the fight. it will be down to people like you showing the political courage that many in washington have lacked over this to drive it through and make it happen. i wish you luck with it. >> thanks a lot, piers. >> my next guest doesn't think america has a gun problem at all. larry elder, and author of "dear father dear son." no gun problem in america? >> thank you for having me on. this book i have written is by

far the most important book i have ever written because it's the centrality of fathers. the face of gun violence in this country as horrific as sandy hook was, is not newtown. it's chicago where 500 people last year were shot. they're a city with about a third black, a third white, a third hispanic, however 75% of the murders were committed by blacks, usually against other blacks. most of it gang related. the question is why do these boys join these gangs? the answer is they have no fathers in the house. 75% of black kids are born without fathers in the house. 50% of hispanic kids, 20% of white kids. >> let me jump in. i have read this claim of yours, and i have looked into it -- >> claim? >> it's a claim, and i'll tell you why it's a claim. i don't dispute the claim of crime in chicago, but i dispute the claim this is why it goes on. if you look at new york and los angeles, their gun homicide rates have dropped to levels in

the 60s, and 25% of children were born out of wedlock compared to 75% now. how do you explain that using your argument? >> piers, this has been studied many times bike organizations like the heritage organization. >> how do you explain in new york where they have extremely strong gun control now, how do you explain that? how do you explain it's not happening in new york? >> there are lots of factors why people commit crimes. but if you look at even new york and you look at the crime in new york, i'm willing to bet you there's a direct relationship between those kids who came from homes with no dads and the fact they committed crimes. >> i'm sure -- >> may i finish? >> you may. >> one of the things i write about in my book "dear father dear son" is there's a direct correlation about not having a father in the house, dropping out of school, going on welfare, being unemployed. don't even quote people like

heritage foundation. let's talk about people like tupac shakur. let me finish. he said if i had had a father in the house, i would have had more discipline and more confidence. you're ignoring what the real issue is here. >> let me jump in because here is my point. what you're trying to make me believe is there's not really a gun problem. there's a social problem involving the lack of fathers -- >> that's right. >> in homes. it doesn't explain why the gun murder rate has plummeted in los angeles, which has just as much gang crime, you know. >> it's all over the country. plummeted all over the country because we're putting bad people behind bars longer. >> why don't you accept that where a city like new york under successive mayors has not only introduced very tough gun control but has enforced it with excellent police law enforcement, they have had stunning results in reducing the gun murder rate and the gun suicide rate? why can't you just accept that that is a fact and say that actually in chicago, there may

be many other issues, one of the issues in chicago is that states around chicago, as you know, like indiana, have very lax gun control? gangsters get in their car, load themselves up, and come back. also it may be that the police enforcement in chicago has been nowhere near as effective has it has been in los angeles in dealing with gangs, and has it has been in new york. these are things you should consider, aren't they? before you dismiss there being no gun problem? >> they most certainly are, and i would submit you the problem of children born without fathers is more acute in places like chicago, detroit, cleveland. and those who commit crimes come from households i mentioned. i interviewed the head of the naacp. i said, as the president of white racism or the absence of black fathers, which poses a bigger threat of the black community? he said without missing a beat, the absence of black fathers.

>> larry -- let me make it clear, i think you raise a perfectly valid point, and i think it is certainly part of the problem in certain parts of america, but i think you also -- >> it's primarily the problem. >> you also need to focus on assault weapons and other issues which i think have an equally paramount importance. we'll talk about this again, i'm sure, in the near future. >> you got it. appreciate you having me. coming up, the "today" show's live wire, and a preview of my interview with charlie sheen where he says winning wasn't really winning at all.

i'm joined by mr. piers morgan. cathy lee has a few days off this week. nice to have you. >> i'm disappointed she is not here. i thought by now we would have this going. what is this? >> this is a mardi gras cake sent from new orleans. the whole deal is this seems early for mardi gras, but this is the official sort of kick off to the mardi gras season. >> hoda, you do not get a body like this eating cake. sitting in for kathy lee. i loved my time with hoda. and the reason was i think you and your cakes gave me the perfect preparation for interviewing people like mahmoud ahmadinejad. >> can i say how fun it was?

you have a weird way, i have to point out, when we had a guest, it started off fun and somehow you found a way to curve in and go right for it. i remember taking note when i watched you do it. >> what i loved about you on there, it's interesting about the premise of your book, really smart, underpinning it is a love of news and journalism. that's really what you're about. >> i spent my whole career traveling the world and covering great stories and i loved it. i loved every minute of it. when i decided to switch gears and laugh and scratch and drink with kathy lee, it was a little unnerving because i was so used to doing what i was used to, but i realized you're doing the same thing, except it's lighter fare, and when breaking news happens, you're ready. you have been there, done that. i look, i straddle the line and sometimes you can't help but wonder, is this the right path?

>> it's the right path. >> it's been so much fun. >> let's get to the news. two huge things this week, one, the gun control debate, which obviously i have been very passionate about. you said it shouldn't be about guns or uzis. i can't understand why there's talk about a slippery slope. you take away an assault weapon, you won't have a weapon to protect yourself in your home. i don't get that. it's not about taking everybody's guns away. it's about a particular type of weapon which to date nobody has really given me a sensible reason why a civilian would ever need one. >> it's so funny because every time i hear the argument, i feel just what you said. i mean, here you are listening and thinking, why do we have these types of weapons? and look, i think you should be able to be armed. i lived in the south for many, many, many years. people like to have their guns. they want to protect themselves, and i get it, but i can't believe there can't be a discussion. that's the thing that kills me.

it's one thing to figure out what we decide later, but you can't have a conversation. >> you have covered war zones. you know the power of these weapons in military hands. they are really military-style weapons. when an ar-15 can pump out 100 bullets in a minute, these are war machines. >> yeah, and once you have seen them in action, you have a really rude awakening. i worked in new orleans for many years and i covered lots of crime. we used to go and see murder after murder. i remember i got to a point where i couldn't take it anymore. at one point, there was a dead guy on the street, and before the coroner got there, there was crime tape around it, and this mom was standing there, and her kid came out. i was watching this whole scene unfold. she said, what are you doing out here, jerome? and he looked at her, and i said, oh, good, and she said, without your coat on? it showed how desensitized these people had become to a murder in their neighborhood. they were more worried about

their child catching the flu than seeing the death in front of them. >> when you hear the debate about armed security in school, what do you think? >> i don't like this, this is my personal opinion. i don't like more guns to back guns. that's me. i think there has to be another way around it. >> lance armstrong, big night for him, confessing to oprah, finally after years of lying and deceiving the americans and everyone in the world, he's finally saying i'm a cheat. what do you think of that? >> i'm very frustrated about the story. one thing that crystallized this, there was a commercial, a nike ad, and it showed lance armstrong with a crush of reporters and they were asking him things and taking blood from him, and the question was, what am i on, what am i on, i'm on my bike, what i you on? i thought, oh, my gosh. this is a man who has taken this issue and made it such a public thing.

look, a whoopsie is a whoopsie, but 15 years of lying is a different thing. it's a totally and completely different thing. i'll be -- i'm frustrated with the whole situation. >> i think it's a total disgrace. >> you do? >> i think lance armstrong will go down in history as the biggest sporting cheater. i mean that in a negative way. i think he is somebody who inspired a whole generation and inspired it on a pack of lies. more than that, rather than cheat and hope he got away with it, this is a guy who actively sued journalists and publications and newspapers and won vast sums of money. you're a survivor, five years, by the way, fantastic. and you look amazing. congratulations. >> i'm sorry, say that again. >> amazing. as a survivor, can you divorce what he has done as a survivor to help cancer and other charities and the money he has raised from everything we now know about him?

>> i know how much money we need for cancer and research, you can say it's all bad money because it came fraught something bad. >> is there such a thing as bad money? >> i think there could be. there's a principle. it's about more than the money. you're saying something, making a statement. >> a sad day for sport and for cycling in particular. and for america, because he was a sporting icon. >> he sure was. >> never good when a sporting icon comes crashing down as a cheat. let's take a break, come back and have frivolous fun. >> i have been waiting for that. >> if you couldn't have a drink for the whole of january, you and kathy lee may be as near to death as you can get.

as you know, i have a boyfriend now. >> hoda phone, that can't be true. tell me, do you find it hard to find time to see him? >> it can be. i'm busy with the today show. >> i mean because he's imaginary. >> no. okay, that was fake. >> so is your boyfriend. >> no. i mean, it was an electronic device. >> so is your boyfriend. >> hilarious sketch from "snl." quite impressive sketch involving this football player. >> no kidding. i did not invent that boyfriend, by the way.

that was a true boyfriend at the time. >> we have a lot of imaginary partner scandals breaking before our very eyes. >> that's pretty incredible, exactly, right here. >> you have actually given up alcohol for the month of january with kathy lee. i'm surprised at you, i'm stunned at kathy lee, a woman who whom a wine glass is never three inches away. how are you doing without alcohol? >> to be honest, we're giving up alcohol on the show. because there are 23 other hours in the day. anyway, it's a tough hour to get through. >> do you feel you have lost -- you are the earliest drinkers on television. >> and the guests come on and want their beverage. >> would it help if they had more alcohol in the earlier part of the "today" show? >> what do you think? nothing like lubing it up a little. i don't think it could hurt. >> what do you think about the

whole war in "gma" the fall out from ann leaving. i realized how important ann was to the family of the "today" show, and it looked to me it was like a divorce and everybody is hurting from it. >> with us, it really does feel like a family. i think ann is doing -- look, no one is better at being in one of the remote locations and doing their thing like ann curry. every time i see her out in the field, i think, oh, my god, she does it better than anybody. >> and a lovely person. one of the nicest people i have met in television. >> when you walk in the door at the "today" show, it really is like a family. i don't know what roker told you, but he's always in a great mood. i said, why are you always in a great mood? he said, because my dad drove a city bus, and i get to come here every day, and everybody, matt especially, there's a kind of a gratefulness being there, and there are wars, and numbers, but

as far as i'm concerned, we're on a show that that been driving the bus for 17 years. we hit a pothole, and let's get moving. come on. >> quite right. fantastic book, and i'll tell the viewers why. it's called "ten years later" about six people who went through adversity in their lives and then transform and then you go back ten years on and see how they got on. one i found very poignant was a man who helped people in 9/11 get out of the towers without realizing that his own loved ones were on one of the planes that crashed in. a more desperate story you couldn't imagine about this despair. why did you come up with the idea? >> i thought a lot of people were in a funk. whether it's tragedies around the world or close to home, and i think when you're hitting a bad spot, you think, how am i going to live ten minutes, let alone ten years? how is it going to be possible? so we looked for people that had a big, difficult problem. we wanted to fast forward ten

years to see what happened to them. just so that you felt like if they are going through this and may made it i can make it through what i'm going through. it's kind of a pick-me-up. i felt like everyone felt so low lately. and some of these stories, there's a woman in here named roxanne quinby. she lost three waitressing jobs, had a couple of kids. everything was fall apart. she sees a lumberjacky guy on the side of the road with a big pickle jar of honey. it's honey. no one is buying it. she helps him package it. she takes the wax from his hives and makes candles. she says we have to get a name for this. there's a big sign that says burt's bees. she sold this company for $350 million. i mean, man, like wow. >> and they are all inspiring like that. >> they are all uplifting. >> some have made money. some haven't. tomorrow i interview charlie sheen. >> do you?

>> he's just become a grandfather. i want your reaction to charlie sheen. talk about ten years later. becoming a grandfather. >> you know what? look, it's one of those things you wonder who is going to be wearing the bib at the end, the grandchild or charlie sheen? >> he probably feels relieved he made it to be a grandfather. hoda, great to see you. enjoy your orange juice. cheers. >> it's missing something. >> the four-hour "today" show airs weekdays on nbc. your book is available right now in all book shops. we'll be back. a little more with my interview from charlie sheen which airs tomorrow night. it's quite something.

tomorrow night the wild man is back. charlie sheen. one of my all-time favorite and most memorable guests returns. addiction, guns, family, fame, regrets, lindsay lohan, "two and a half men." we covered just about everything with charlie talking about his whole bad boy image. is that always the demon on your shoulder? >> yes. but also for me, people have come to expect a certain flair out of me. a certain type of behavior. was i living it for myself or for them? did it feel good? was it who i wanted to be? i don't think it was who i wanted to be. again, things got ahead of themselves and you start playing catch-up trying put the blocks back together. >> i thought a lot of it was very entertaining. i said to you at the time, i